Simplify Your Happiness

Living in a small town where everything is still simple makes me trim all of the branches, all of the curves, all of the mazes in my own built way of appreciating things.

Several months ago when I was still actively working, my office held a gathering after office hour in the office where employees should bring their families along. There were food (off course), music, speeches and performances by the employees.

My office here is a small organization. It consists of only 30 something permanent employees and another 30 something outsourced workers (most for the lower jobs). Of the 30s permanent employees may be only half make nice payrolls. The rests are not bad but not nice either, just decent.

So it was not a glamorous event at all. I would rather say humble. However the feeling was there. Families were enjoying the food, music, performances and most of all the opportunity to come to a party.

What touched me was seeing how the families of the security officers, messengers and cleaning service team who made up half of the crowd really enjoyed the night. They wore their best clothes, put on festive make up and brought all of their kids in fancy clothes too. It looked like the event was so special to them. It was like a very big and important party that everyone was waiting for.

Seeing this made me feel pity for myself. Attending the event was just like an obligation to me, no fun at all. I just had to be there so my boss would see me and know I was a good employee. Deep inside I felt they were stealing my time from my family even though my family was coming too. I just could not enjoy it. All of this time I grew more and more complicated. I could appreciate only the most sophisticated or the finest things. If it’s neither of them then it would fail to make me happy. If it’s worse then I would simply call it tacky.

But the scenery that night, of the glows on those people excited by the party, had awaken me. I had been wasting many chances to enjoy myself and be happy. If simple things can make other people happy, why should I torture myself denying the chances? Why was I making my own happiness complicated and hard to get?

So yesterday when we were waiting for our flight to Balikpapan in the airport, when my maid was ecstatic to see a local celebrity and rushed to get a picture with him, I instantly followed suit with no hesitation. It was my first picture with a celebrity whose shows I didn’t even watch let alone fancy of. I was just letting the feeling go and didn’t want to waste another chance to be happy although in the past I would have called it tacky.